08E21 - Nanny Dearest

The BAU returns to a six year old active case of nannies and their charge, one pair per year, being abducted in parks up and down the California coast. The children are found alive and unharmed within 24 hours, but the nannies are eventually found dead, with the exception of one, Tara Rios, who, in 2010, managed to escape but was so traumatized by her ordeal that she remembers nothing and now refuses to assist with the case anymore. The victims were physically assaulted, burned with hot implements, and drowned in scalding water. The unsub has always made sure that the bodies were found in a Los Angeles park on May 13, that date this year being a few weeks away, the reason for the team's current work. The team is late as the unsub has struck earlier than usual this year, abducting a nanny named Gina Mendes and her charge, two year old Phoebe Payton. This abduction ends up being different than the other five in that Phoebe is not returned within 24 hours, which is all the more dangerous for her since she suffers from asthma and requires medication to control it. The team feels that Tara is still their best hope in finding the unsub, which may place them in a tenuous situation as she is still not mentally prepared to relive the ordeal, as supported by her therapist. This case ends up being a difficult one for J.J. as the mother of a young child.